


Christmas Soulmates

by aladyindarkshadows



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, but a fluffy ending, just a tiny bit of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 19:25:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5427803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aladyindarkshadows/pseuds/aladyindarkshadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel hates Christmas.  Well, he hates being alone at Christmas.  Not wanting to deal with his family asking about his inability to find his soulmate, he gets out of town for the holiday.  Then he gets snowed-in with a stranger from the bar with gorgeous green eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Destiel Advent Calendar](http://destieladventcalendar.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr.

Castiel hated Christmas.

Objectively he had nothing against the holiday. It was a beautiful time of year, he liked the snow, and the decorations and lights were some of his favorite things. He liked Christmas songs and music. He had nothing against the sudden and very visible onslaught of charitable causes; he donated generously to food drives, toys for kids, and the Salvation Army bell ringers outside of his preferred grocery store. Overall the excitement and atmosphere of the holiday season were quite pleasant.

What Castiel hated was the constant reminder of how alone he was. One might assume that Valentine’s Day would be the worst for a man in his thirties that hadn’t yet found his soulmate, but it wasn’t the case. There was a certain comradery with others alone on the couples’ day. Christmas was different. It was all about family and friends. His few friends had their own family to gather with. Castiel had never been close with his father after his mother died when he was in high school. His father was now off on some quest for inner enlightenment in Asia anyway. There were plenty of cousins, but he always felt apart from them, the son of the black sheep of the family. Added to which, they would only bombard him with questions and suggestions about finding his soulmate.

Castiel couldn’t stand telling them over and over how he had tried everything. But the fact was he was sick of it all. He had spent years trying. Everywhere he went he checked people’s arms for the birthmark that matched his own. He tried the main dating sites where the profile picture was your soulmate birthmark. He’d even tried the dating websites for those who refused to limit themselves to finding the one perfect match. All Castiel got was disappointment.

This year he was determined to ignore the whole thing.

The first step was leaving town so well-meaning relatives couldn’t find him. Usually when he got away from Pontiac he’d go to Chicago, but this wasn’t the time for the usual. He needed to be spontaneous. So closing his eyes and putting a finger to the map he got Kansas.

It was snowing heavily when Castiel finally made it to the motel. He immediately collapsed onto the bed. He pulled out his book, but the words blurred and refused to make any sense. He turned on the TV, but after cycling through the channels five times, there was nothing worth watching. Things that were halfway decent were romantic films all about soulmates and true love and Christmas. He turned off the TV. He needed a drink.

There was no minibar in the motel, so Castiel pulled out his phone, searched for a bar, and grabbed his car keys. There was one not far, but it was closed. It was Christmas Eve after all. Another just a bit further away was hosting what looked like a company party. With one look at the crowd he decided to check out the third option. It was far more out of the way, but when he got there it was open and mostly empty.

He sat for an hour kicking back a couple beers at the bar and half watching the news on a TV in the corner. He didn’t pay attention to much of anything until the bartender spoke to a man sitting down at the other end.

“Dean, listen, I’m supposed to stay open another hour, but Liz’s gotta a—“

“Go,” the man said. “I can close up here.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah, give Liz a kiss from me.”

“Ha, I’m not that stupid. Thanks, Dean.” The bartender left through the back.

“So it looks like it’s just you and me, buddy,” Dean said to Castiel.

Castiel looked around. Sure enough, the bar was now completely empty.

“Sticking with beer, or can I get you a different poison?”

For the first time Cas got a good look at the stranger. He was gorgeous. Castiel couldn’t look away from those shining eyes. When he did finally pull his eyes away they gravitated right to that perfectly kissable mouth.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Castiel replied after what seemed an eternity.

“You aren’t fine if you’re out drinking alone on Christmas Eve. No family, or too much of one?”

“Both.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

“You?” Castiel couldn’t believe this man wasn’t taken. Were the people in this town blind?

“Got a brother and some other folks that are near enough family, but I couldn’t do it this year. Didn’t want all the uncomfortable questions.”

Well, that made sense. Castiel snorted. “Like why are still single? Haven’t you found your soulmate? Have you tried online? You won’t do anything if you don’t get out more. I’ve got a friend who you might like. Have I missed any?”

“She isn’t worth pining over,” Dean said, obviously mimicking an acquaintance. “It’s time to move on. She wasn’t your soulmate anyway. That skanky bitch was just using you so get over it.”

“Ouch.” So there used to be someone, but not _the_ one.

“Maybe that last one was just me and the alcohol.”

“I’d ask you if you wanted to talk about it, but right now I’m more interested in more alcohol.” And covertly staring at you.

Dean looked at him for a long moment with a slight smile. “You got a name?”

“Castiel. And your name is Dean.”

“Yeah. You know, Castiel, this next drink’s on me. What do you say we pull out the whiskey?”

 

* * *

 

 

Several glasses later, Dean and Castiel ended up confessing their sob stories to each other.

For Castiel, Dean was just so easy to talk to—in spite of being so beautiful. He was so relaxed and kind. Castiel wasn’t comfortable in social situations and he tended to make people feel awkward, but not Dean. There was an instant connection. Because he was as comfortable sharing with Dean as he was listening to him.

So Castiel talked about his nagging cousins, absent father, and the way he ran out of town; and in turn Castiel learned about Lisa. She was Dean’s high school girlfriend. They parted afterwards to find their soulmates, but a year later she came back and they got together a few times for fun. Then she found out she was pregnant. Or at least that’s what she had said at the time.

Dean tried to propose, but she refused. They stayed together though, lived together as a family for five years, and then Lisa found the man with her matching soulmate mark. All of a sudden she was confessing that her son was the product of a one night stand, that she knew she was already pregnant when she got back with Dean, and that her soulmate wanted to raise her son with her. So hit the road, Dean. That was almost two years ago.

“You know, Cas,” Dean said, the alcohol starting to affect his speech. “Can I call you Cas? You’re the first person I felt comfortable telling about all that.”

“It’s the whiskey,” Castiel answered.

“No, don’t think so. I’ve been drunker than this many times before. I know how to keep my mouth shut. There’s something about you.”

“My credulous naiveté?” Cas suggested.

Dean choked on his drink. “Your what?”

“Never mind.”

“You’re okay, Cas. Weird, but okay. I bet you don’t even believe in all that destiny and soulmate crap. I mean why should we center our lives around something as dumb as a bookmark.”

“Birthmark,” Cas corrected.

“Exactly. It’s total crap. Doesn’t mean a damn thing. I’ve never met anyone with a matching mark and I’m fine. I don’t want to meet them. You shouldn’t let your family bully you about it. So what, right? There are more important things in life. I mean, with everything on the news, all the shit going on in the world we just go around looking for...”

“Dean?” Cas asked.

Dean was staring at the TV. Across the bottom of the screen was a large scrolling banner talking about a dangerous blizzard in Kansas. More importantly, in their part of Kansas.

“Shit,” Dean said. “What motel did you say you were staying at?”

“The Comfort Inn on Second Street.”

“You’ll never make it back.”

“It can’t be that—“

“Look outside. Plus, do you really want to drive out there with as much as you’ve had to drink?”

“So what do I do?”

Dean rubbed a hand over his face. “You can stay at my place. It’s just a block and a half. I think we can risk the walk.”

“Shouldn’t we just stay here?”

“And get snowed in? Nah, if I’m getting stuck somewhere there’s gonna be a shower and more food than canned olives and stale pretzels.”

They locked up the bar, and Cas followed Dean into the snow. It was a difficult struggle, and by the time they made it to the safety of Dean’s apartment they were both soaked through and blue from cold.

“I’ve got some clothes you can borrow,” Dean said. “Let me grab ‘em.”

Dean walked down a short hall into another room. Cas looked around while waiting. The apartment was clean but well lived in. The furniture looked comfortable instead of new. There was a blanket thrown haphazardly over the couch rather than decoratively. There was a TV and large DVD collection beside it. Next to that was a modest bookshelf crammed with worn paperbacks and a few pictures lined the top. Castiel picked up one that had to be Dean standing with his brother. It was a happy picture, the two standing casually and close. It must have been taken in summer because they were both wearing short sleeved tee shirts.

That’s when Castiel saw it. There, plain as a boiled potato, was Dean’s soulmate mark. It matched Castiel’s.

Dean was his soulmate.

That explained the connection they shared, the easy way they had around each other. The way he had just followed a stranger to his apartment in the middle of a snow storm. And holy cats, his mate was gorgeous.

But Dean didn’t want a soulmate. He railed against them. The only thing worse than not finding your soulmate was having your soulmate reject you. Cas couldn’t risk it. He hastily put the picture back when he heard Dean returning.

“I grabbed some towels too,” Dean was saying. “The bathroom’s just through there.”

“Thank you,” Cas mumbled and quickly retreated. He couldn’t bear to look at Dean just then. After changing, he slowly left the bathroom and found Dean heating something in the microwave. It smelled delicious.

“Thought we'd have some dinner and a movie,” Dean said with a grin. “I never could just cook for one, so I’ve got lots of leftovers. And if the power goes out, somewhere around here is a propane stove. Sam’s idea of a gift.”

Castiel felt his heart crack. In a situation like this he would be hopeless: ill-prepared and unable to cook. Dean was perfect, his one true match, and he didn’t want a soulmate. Dinner and a movie was a classic date, but that wasn’t what this was, and it wouldn’t ever be if Dean knew the truth.

_He doesn’t want you_ , his mind whispered.

“Hey, are you okay?” Dean asked.

“Fine, why?”

“You just—” The microwave beeped loudly and cut him off. Dean divided the food between two plates and handed one to Cas. They both sat on the couch while Dean picked out a movie. “How about some classic Star Wars? I mean, we could pick out something a little more holiday themed, but given everything...”

“I’ve never seen Star Wars,” Cas admitted.

“What? How? No, that settles it. We’re watching it.”

The parts of the movie Castiel could pay attention to he enjoyed. It was simple enough to follow. But every so often Dean would laugh, or mouth the dialogue along with the movie, or just shift and brush against Castiel for the briefest second.

_He doesn’t want you._

It was agony. And the more the snow fell outside the more he was trapped.

The movie came to an end and Dean looked to see Cas’ reaction. “Well?”

“It was good. I can see why it’s a classic. The use of mythological archetypes and the hero’s journey set against a space yet oddly cowboy universe. The very end, however, was uncomfortably copying the German propaganda film _Triumph of_ …” He trailed off when he saw Dean’s expression. “I liked it.”

“Really?” Dean sounded as if he didn’t believe him.

“Yes, it was very good.”

“Okay. So if you hadn’t seen Star Wars, what about the Christmas classic, Die Hard?”

“No, I haven’t seen that,” Cas replied absently. _But he doesn’t want you_.

“Huh. Do you want to? Because I get the feeling you’d really like to not be here. What’s going on, Cas? I know I’m a stranger, but I thought…”

“You thought what?”

“That there was a little trust and friendship here. You look like you’re about to run out the door.”

“It’s nothing,” Cas said.

“You can talk to me—“

“You don’t want me!” Cas blurted.

Dean sat there with confusion written all over his face.

“Forget it,” Cas mumbled. “It’s stupid. Like you said, soulmates are dumb.”

“Cas?” Dean was staring down at Cas’ arm where he was scratching over the borrowed sweater. Cas hadn’t even realized he was doing it. “Can I…”

Cas pulled his arm in closer against his body.

“Please?” With that pleading note in Dean’s voice and a pained sigh from Cas, Castiel held out his arm. Dean slowly and gently pushed up the sleeve and gasped. “You… How did you even know? I mean, when I saw you and—“

“I saw the photograph on the shelf—“

“—we talked I thought there was no way—“

“—but you said all that before about—“

“—this guy is way too gorgeous for me.”

“—soulmates not… Wait. What?” Castiel’s brain finally got up with what they had been saying at the same time.

It appeared like the same thing happened for Dean. “What do you mean what I said?”

“At the bar. That you didn’t want to meet your soulmate.”

“I was lying, Cas. Talking big and macho because I’d been screwed in the past. Of course I want my soulmate! But you, you’re too good. You’re funny, and weird, really smart, and hotter than anything with the sex hair and those eyes!”

“And you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met,” Cas said softly. “Inside and out.”

They stared at each other in silence while the wind picked up and howled outside.

“Fuck, we don’t even know each other,” Dean said.

“Then why do I feel we already share a bond?”

“So should we…”

“Take it slowly?” Cas supplied.

“Yeah, slow. That’s good.”

Then the power went out.

“Or, you know, since it’s gonna get cold we could just jump right into the hot stuff,” Dean said as they sat in the dark.

“Hot stuff?”

“Getting _very_ close. Sharing body heat.”

“I think that would be prudent. We should probably start right now.” Cas grabbed Dean and pulled him in to claim his lips in a deep kiss. It took only a moment for Dean to wrap his arms around Cas and move even closer.

 

* * *

 

 

When the storm finally cleared two days later, both Dean and Cas agreed that Christmas was the best holiday ever.


End file.
